Twisted Paths
by Silverkiss-Iceheart
Summary: We all know theres more to Damon than he shows. Now he meets someone that sees through it. A creature that was said to have been hunted into extinction. Damon's starting to realize why as he comes to terms with just what this means.
1. Mysterious Encounters

Okay here it is, my new story that will hopefully help get my muse up with my other one, Alternate Beginnings. I'll be adding the next chapter after I get my first review. Until then its on hold. So _review_, or I will seek the creature that I have not named at you. Err, never mind he never listens to me. Well review anyways.

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><p>Damon's head rested against the cold stone of the wall. Half of it had been destroyed years ago, no one ever came here anyone, probably why he did. It was ironic that it was a abandoned graveyard, perfect place for a vampire, particularly one like him. Damon opened his eyes at the sound of footsteps, like a giant cat. The sight that greeted him had him lost in confusion. The man that looked at him had vertical slits for pupils, centered in his gold, red and blue eyes. But more than that was the heavy fox tail that curled around his leg, the red cat ears that were perked in interest, visible in his black and red hair. The creature was beautiful in a way, but like nothing he had ever seen before. Damon tensed as he looked at the aura. The wall of red and black showed nothing of the evil associated with it, instead seeming to give off a glow of loyalty, kindness and protection that was almost impossible to not sink into. The streaks of silver and gold through it only added to his uncertain trust, whatever this creature was, he felt that there was nothing he could do to gain its hate.<p>

"What is your name?"

Damon looked the thing in the eye, unconsciously letting the suspicion created by the fox tail and the black and red aura be washed away.

"Damon Salvatore." The creature smiled, showing pearly white fangs, barely long enough to touch his bottom lip. Damon blinked in surprise, Kitsune, Vampire and something else that he didn't know, it seemed all condensed into one creature. But there was nothing like a Kitsune's nature about him.

"I thought you might be..." Damon looked sharply away, another person that knew him, and probably hated him, but he couldn't imagine this creature capable of that. Finally he looked back, only to freeze in shock, how it had done it he didn't know, but he was gone, leaving nothing but a heady scent of cedar, spices and leather. _Just when I convinced myself that I wasn't loosing my mind_ Damon tried to shake off the images of the creature, reluctantly turning away from the spot where it had been, there was no way he was staying here if it was inducing mirages.

Damon put on a casual smirk as he walked into the house again, Stefan greeting him with a glare.

"What no welcoming hello little brother?" There wasn't a chance he was giving his brother, a chance to become convinced that he was insane as well, he wasn't planning on telling anyone what had happened. He left the room with Stefan glaring after him, Elena watching with a almost sympathetic look, after his delusional encounter in the graveyard, he definitely couldn't deal with them. He flicked the lock on his door the moment he entered, settling on the bed. Carefully he replayed every image in his mind, and the strangest thing about it was that unlike most magically induced perceptions, his belief that the creature wouldn't hate him hadn't left, and something about it just made it almost painful to even think about the possibility. He looked up as someone knocked on the door, a quick touch with his mind told him it was Bonny. Great, he had to deal with the one Human that just happened to be a witch!

"You okay Damon?" He closed his eyes, this was going to be a long day.

"Worried about me Bonny, I'm touched." He paused, having a afterthought and easily reading her emotional grid, she was actually worried. He sighed quietly, this was not good.

"I'm fine Bonny", he added almost sincerely. He felt her hesitation for a moment before she responded.

"Okay, but if something happened, come talk to me, okay?" Damon froze at her voice, it was almost like she knew, and being a witch it was entirely possible that she did.

"Okay Bonny," he spoke under his breathe, almost hoping that she wouldn't hear, that he wouldn't be obliged to listen. He heard her footsteps as she walked back to her room, hearing them even as she crossed the entire house. A sudden noise that stood out from the rest in the house caught his attention. As he looked quickly to the source a shadow danced across the wall for a moment before vanishing, if something had been there, it was fast... fast enough to completely disappear.

He felt Bonny watching him as he appeared in the living room, Stefan not even bothering to look at him this day, that was alright with him, there were to many things in his mind to argue with him. Meredith nodded uncertainly, she still didn't know what to think of him. Elena just smiled, he didn't know how she planned to balance a relationship with Stefan and a friendship with him, but he admired her for trying. He didn't say anything to any of them as he left the house. He wanted to get to the bottom of this, whether it was just a mirage or not. Vampires didn't start randomly losing their mind, of that much he was certain. He was drawing his normal amount of attention, something so normal that he barely even acknowledged it unless he needed to feed. Today he ignored the stares, heading towards the graveyard again.

The autumn leaves broke silently under his boot heel, every sound seemed muted, as if some force in the world was determined to give him the space that he so desperately needed. The only sound he heard was a deep purr that he couldn't place. Like really big, really happy cat. He leaned against the the scarcely intact wall, just a chunk of ruin in the middle of circle of stones, each one a crumbling grave. What was in the middle wasn't any less desolate, a few gravestones, a white tree that was barely seven foot tall but had long shed its leaves and given up growing. Finally his eyes reaches the surprising strong branches on it, locking onto the figure sprawled out on one like a cat, the welcoming purr that answered his gaze confirmed a reality that he didn't know whether to fear or welcome.


	2. Uncertain Bonds

Okay as promised here is the next chapter, man you guys are fast.

,Nerw20  
>Thank you for the review, and I hope you'll be back to read the rest<p>

,Aphrodite-Venus-u.k  
>Thank you for the correction, I thought I was spelling it wrong. Its been ages since I read the book. And I might check that out, but I just joined a different one so I'm still settling in that one. Thanks for your opinion and I'll appreciate any advice you can give.<p>

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><p>Damon looked at the fox tail that dangled off the edge, the red fur glossy, especially where the tip faded to black. The ears had a different pattern, a black spiral that crossed the entire ear, the line so thin that it was barely there.<p>

"I was hoping you'd come." Damon looked at him sharply, taking in the single white claw on each middle finger, replacing his fingernails. He tensed as the creatures sleek muscles wound together, releasing in a single leap. He stepped back as it landed in front of him, rising from its crouch. A soft rumbling purr filled the silence. Damon looked at him, shocked into silence by everything that had happened, but he didn't know what was more confusing. This creature, or the way it seemed to feel about him. He waited for something, anything but its low purring, and seemingly mindless acceptance of him.

"What are you?" Damon said it more as a demand than a question, habits from keeping Stefan out of his head.

Its ears tilted in each direction almost as if it were upset as it looked up at him.

"That doesn't matter. Your here now." He stared at it blankly, not saying a word. This was the last thing he'd expected, from anything. The creature was almost radiating a silent joy, as if nothing could go wrong in the world. Finally he forced himself to look away from its eyes, the vortex's that seemed to spin faster the happier it was.

"Yes it does matter. Now why were you in my room?" He almost felt guilty as its ears almost disappeared back into its fur, its tail lashing almost miserably.

"You were upset. I was worried." Damon blinked, his shell-shocked expression bringing a almost amused look to the cat-like creature.

"You snuck into my room and nearly gave me a heart-attack because you were worried."

It seemed ignorant of Damon's incredulous tone as it nodded, as if it was perfectly understandable that it snuck into his room, and even more so.

That it had been worried about him.

He watched, confused, curious and more than anything, resigned to just wait and listen. As it leaped gracefully back into the tree, its claw digging into the branch to lift itself up as it missed.

Without missing a beat it twisted around and offered him its hand.

It was when he accepted it that he knew for sure... He'd lost his mind.

Damon leaned against the trunk of the tree, watching it as it kneaded the branch with its single claw, his other hand constantly occupied, messing with the chains that were hooked onto his belt, carving meaningless patterns in the wood, always something, as if he was stopping it from giving in to a different impulse.

"Whats your name?" Damon didn't know where it had learned his, but if this thing wasn't going to leave him alone, he might as well know its.

It looked back at him, from the brief time that it had finally looked away.

"Mathiyas" Damon nodded, trying to ignore those eyes that were following him again, as if he was afraid to miss the slightest detail.

No one would ever believe, but it was making him nervous. After so long with Stefan, he was used to two things, hate and pity. He didn't know what category this fell into, but it was nothing he was used to.

Damon almost sighed as a deep purr filled the air again, those gold, blue and autumn red eyes focusing impossibly further.

Damon went rigid as he felt Stefan touch his mind, Mathiyas's purr changing to a growl, its eyes turning flinty as it looked around, waiting for a threat to present itself.

_**What do you want Stefan?**_

For once he didn't bother with his normal act of arrogance, for some reason, he didn't want Stefan to know about Mathiyas. Not yet.

**'Bonnie's acting strange, what did you say to her?'** Damon gave a irritated sigh at the harsh voice. Not this again.

_**Really brother, must you blame me for everything? Why don't you try asking her whats wrong.**_

He could almost feel Stefan growl in frustration, but deafening that was the deep, threatening rumble from his new friend.

He felt Stefan pull away, giving up in questioning him further, apparently St. Stefan could be reasonable. After a moment of silence Damon turned to Mathiyas again.

"I have to go, before he decides I'm going to murder someone." He was confused, he didn't even know if he could call him a friend, they'd only met twice now, but still. He had a feeling that Mathiyas wasn't giving him up that easy. "You'll come back right?" Damon hesitated for a moment before nodding, trying to ignore the tail that had wrapped itself around his ankle, or the ears that instantly perked up. This was just too complicated for him to figure out on his own.

It was time to go talk to Bonnie.

Saying goodbye had been... complicated.

Especially after the argument he'd had to have with the tail that Mathiyas apparently had no control over.

Damon entered the house, being greeted by Stefan's confused stare, Elena's smile, Meredith's attempt at waving a hello with a spatula that currently had a egg in it.

And finally, Bonnie's expectant look before she slipped out of the room. Damon didn't pause before following her, dodging around Meredith as she calmly tried to weed the half-raw egg out of her hair.

He didn't even acknowledge Bonnie as he walked into his room, deciding instead to completely ignore her sitting Indian style in the middle of the bed.

"So, you going to admit too your latest encounter with freaky creatures or not?" He looked at her with a raised eyebrow,

"and people say I'm blunt." He didn't say anything in response to her actually question, setting against the window sill, trying to ignore the flash of red that recognized as a fox tail, for some reason he wasn't surprised that he'd followed him. Bonnie sighed,

"look I may not know what he is, but I know this much. You have no idea what to think about him, but your special to him and he does nothing to hide it. I'm a witch Damon."

He sighed quietly, giving up.

"Alright then. Perhaps you can help me figure out my fox-tailed-cat-eared-fanged stalker."

He couldn't deny that he took great pleasure in the startled squawk from outside that was followed by the rather loud thump of a cat failing to land on its feet. It was Bonnie's turn to raise a eyebrow as she stood up, walking to the peered out curiously,  
>Damon knew that she wouldn't see anything. The one thing he knew for certain about Mathiyas was that he was fast.<br>Damon laughed as Bonnie turned away looking confused, only to come face-to-face with the very thing she'd been searching for.  
>Very fast indeed.<p> 


	3. Mistakes And Connections

Okay here is the next chapter, despite promising myself repeatedly that I wouldn't post until I had two more reviews. You guys are putting me on a guilt trip here! Well **Review**

Thank you Morrigue, stick around for the next chapters, it only gets better as it goes on... hopefully

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><p>Needless to say, Bonnie wasn't happy.<p>

And Damon was glad that his room was soundproofed, because the shriek she let out would have woken the dead... no pun intended.  
>Mathyias smiled slowly, showing his fangs as his tail swung back and forth behind him, his cat ears perked up, he was enough to give even a witch a heart-attack... or make her scream like a banshee.<p>

Damon cringed as she chose the latter, there was no way the sound proofing was keeping that in.  
>Mathyias's ears went flat against his skull at the nose, drawing back with a quiet hiss.<br>Damon heard a crash as Stefan moved, this was not good.

Mathyias moved with his cat-like speed, whispering something in Bonnie's ear, she instantly fell silent, before he darted out the window, he paused, giving Damon a last glance before dropping down. Somehow he knew what that meant.  
>'Same place, anytime. I'll be there.' Damon nodded briefly, even though he was already gone. A moment later Stefan burst in.<p>

Bonnie wheeled around at the same time as Damon did. She was picture of terror, her hair ruffled from slamming into Mathyias's chest, her eyes flared wide and soft pants falling from her chest.

"What happened!" Damon didn't react at the accusing look that followed the demand, he was used to it.

"It- It was a flash-back, of what happened."

Silently Damon thanked either Mathyias, or Bonnie's quick thinking, there was no chance he'd have been able to handle that. Not that Stefan would have believed him anyways.

Stefan drew back carefully, looking uncertain, but he nodded. It was easy enough to believe that everything that had happened to them could make someone scream like that.

Elena walked in then, not even asking, just drawing Bonnie into a comforting hug.

Thank the world for vampire hearing. Stefan left with her, giving Damon another suspicious look over his shoulder.

As the door shut Damon moved back to the window, half-wishing that Mathyias was still there, half-glad that he wasn't.

But he smiled as a shadow flickered on the wall, Damon didn't know whether Mathyias never failed to surprise him, or never did.

Part of him had been expecting it, but that part was something that he'd never even known had existed. If it even had before.

Quickly Damon shut off that thought, turning around to greet him.

"Your upset again." Damon nearly cringed at the concerned statement, it wasn't even a question.

"Is it that obvious?"

"To me." At that his head snapped sharply up, but Mathyias continued before he could ask.

"Your brother assumes far to much, I don't understand how he could hate you."

Damon's eyes flashed at the tone, this wasn't anything he was used to, the affection, the understanding, the acceptance, the protection.

He responded the way that came naturally to something he'd never really known, he snapped at it.

"I don't see why you don't."

Mathyias looked at him, its ears pinning them selves to the side of his head, he almost flinched at that, it seemed that it happened every time he snapped at him.

He hated himself for it.

After a moment he gave a quiet sigh, his tail curling around his leg as he sat on the window sill.

"The thing I've noticed is that some people, they abuse their flaws, bluntness, impulsiveness, thoughtlessness. And yet the don't see how there are so many people out there who don't see them. So tell me Damon, which is worse, the ones who try to make themselves better and hate themselves for not being so? Or the ones that don't even think about them and consider themselves perfect?"

It wasn't until a minute later that Damon realized he was gaping. He couldn't understand it, Mathyias seemed to know every way to respond to him, everything he was feeling, everything he was thinking. And that is when it hit him. He practically could too. He heard Bonnie choke, probably picking up on that as well, it seemed like her.

He began to pace, grateful again for the soundproofing, he didn't need Stefan thinking he was crazy. Damon ignored the door opening, he could feel Bonnie's mind, and besides, he wasn't in much of a mood to care anyways.

"Okay, so you can read each others mind."

Damon laughed quietly, count on Bonnie to say something like that.

"More moods than anything" He glanced over at her skeptically raised eyebrow.

"Well enough that you knew exactly what he was trying to tell you?" He chose to ignore that, stopping in his pacing to look out the window, again he wished that Mathyias would reappear.

After a moment of hesitation Damon carefully felt for his instincts that let him control his mind, somehow not surprised to find something else there, it felt like Mathyias, that was the only way he could put it.

Soft, warm, but at the same time fierce and cold. It was like a falcon, a predator by nature, but when tamed by love could be either one, depending on the need.

Carefully he extended this new connection, instantly feeling what he recognized as Mathyias. It felt more like renewing a connection that had been still for centuries than creating a new one. Damon gasped softly as the contact was returned, almost breaking under the gentle wave of emotions, he couldn't even name them all, protection, care, reassurance, affection, welcome, acceptance, hope.

He felt Bonnie guide him to the bed as his knees buckled, it didn't surprise him how well she understood.

The change in Mathyias's mood was instant, concern, inquiry, aggression, but always protective.

He didn't even think about it as he let his own mood channel. Assurance, calming. Damon barely even felt Bonnie jolt in shock, his mind was swamped by the constant changes.

It felt like his entire being was rearranging itself. He didn't so much as physically shift as mentally, completely disconnected from the world.

_'Relax Damon, its okay, its just the bond asserting itself'_

He didn't twitch at the voice, but the words.

_'Bond?'_ Mathyias didn't respond, instead he felt him brushing gently against the memories of Stefan coming to check on Bonnie, asking him to let him see, even though he could do so easily.

He couldn't bring himself to be unsettled by how open the connection was, most mental contacts was the mind reaching out to another, this was different.

It was like a constant link, like a channel connecting them, to the point where their minds didn't even have to stray to be connected. He felt Bonnie shake him roughly,

Mathyias partially dropping the connection as the door opened.

Meredith.

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><p><strong>Review<strong> people, I **Will** keep that promise this time.


	4. Tough Explainations

Alright, I've decided against demanding reviews, so I've been reduced to begging. Please, please review?

Well no reviewers to call out, so I'm just gonna start the chapter.

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><p>Bonnie shot up perfectly in sync with him, and in that moment Damon was glad that Mathyias knew when to take off. Meredith's arms were crossed as she scowled at both of them, a accusing look in her eyes.<p>

"Okay, let me get this straight. You both start acting weird. Your actually getting along. Bonnie starts screaming like a banshee for no reason. And you guys actually think that I'm not going to figure it out."

They both exchanged glances, of course Meredith would figure out that something was up, but there was the question of what all she knew.

Mathyias growled in his mind, the outrage and defiance conveyed in the sound nearly tangible in the room.

_Easy Mathyias_ Damon tried to soothe the unsettled Cat-Demon. Meredith looked at him as if she knew what was going on,

"I can see it in your eyes Damon, and your lack of sarcastic remarks of course, that I'm right when I say that there is someone out that window that your talking to."

And for the second time that day there was a startled yelp as Mathyias hit the ground with a pathetic lack of his usual grace. Damon blinked, looking over at the window before back at Meredith.

"Exactly how much do you know?" She smiled,

"just get your stalker in here."

Damon laughed, Mathyias appearing almost instantly by his side, and unless Damon had lost his ability to read people, the fox-tailed creature was embarrassed.

Meredith looked at the tail swishing back in forth on the floor, as if it were looking for a place to hid, and Mathyias to go with that looked ready to sink into the floor.

Apparently falling from a tree and landing on his face twice in the same day was a bit to much damage to his dignity.

Damon couldn't blame him.

"Easy Mathyias," Damon tried to soothe him, getting only a slightly grouchy huff in response. Damon rolled his eyes, instead speaking to him mentally.

_Stop sulking and try and give Meredith a better impression. I don't want her going to Stefan about this._

Whether it was his authoritative voice or logic that got through to him, Mathyias's tail stopped searching for a place to hide.

Meredith sighed kind of like she was once again reevaluating her existence,

"okay, I just want to know one thing. Who is he, and why is he following Damon around."

Not even her fierce expression stopped Damon from correcting her.

"Technically thats two things." Bonnie laughed as she sat back down on the bed, Meredith's expression barely even faltered. It was Mathyias that finally spoke up to answer her, "I'm Mathyias, a Démon âme." Damon froze at that one sentence, silently cursing himself for stupidity. How had he not recognized the signs.

A Démon âme, also known as Soul Demon had been hunted into extinction centuries ago, simply because if the one they were bond to wished it, they could destroy the world.

Damon tried desperately to ignore the gaze that silently pleaded him to understand, this explained everything.

The way Mathyias acted, the way he treated him, how he always seemed to be there at his slightest desire.

Démon âme's entire existence was devoted for one purpose only, to keep their soul-mate happy. They had been destroyed before their powers limit had been found, and now not only was one alive and here.

But had imprinted on Damon.

Mathyias had disappeared only seconds later after that, Damon wished that it was simply a matter of him wanting to get out of there, but he knew it was actually because he needed time alone.

Without the issues of having a doting demon looking after his every desire.

Meredith looked around for a few seconds before walking away, Damon didn't pay any attention as Bonnie followed.

He could feel the connection between them, and felt almost every second the need to reach out to it, because the matter of Les Liens D'âme, as it was called is that its two-sided.

He could practically hear Mathyias's cry of grief as he cut himself off from it, trying to block out everything that was Mathyias, trying to think straight for a moment.

He knew that he should tell Stefan and report Mathyias's existence, but he had a feeling that neither Bonnie nor Meredith would let him.

The first thing anybody would do is destroy Mathyias, and due to the steadily deepening connection between them,

Damon.

Bonnie's last look at him when she left made it clear that she wasn't letting that happen. Ever.

He wasn't sure what had happened, one moment everyone would have been more than happy to get rid of him, now it seemed like everyone but Stefan wasn't willing to let him come to any harm.

Damon stood quickly, automatically beginning to pace, the reflexive method of venting coming out as usual when he was stressed.

Through the mostly blocked connection he could feel Mathyias fighting against the need to go to him, and half of Damon wanted him to give in.

The rest was screaming just how illogical that was.

Damon winced, he'd forgotten just how much of a headache conflicting irrational voices could give someone.

And as if once again some force in the universe wanted to complete his day Stefan contacted him. **Matt is here, Elena wants you down here.**

He sighed, before putting on his usual front.

_**Of course brother.**_

He was surprised at the lack of irritation that answered his sarcasm. There was a long moment of silence before Stefan answered. **Are you alright Damon?**

He winced, wondering how much Bonnie's expression had revealed, and how much his mood had as well.

He decided against answering, instead just opening the door and walking down stairs. Stefan's honest concern both surprised and confused him, but Bonnie's obvious composure did to. If Damon couldn't see through that mask Stefan definitely wouldn't be able to. So it wasn't her that revealed it. Matt gave him a look that was a amusing mixture of suspicion and fear, it made it easier to fall back into his usual mood, but Mathyias's constant presence in the back of his mind. That just made it a whole lot harder.

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><p>Flamers will suffer at the hand of Mathyas, once I coax Damon into getting him to listen to me.<p> 


	5. Forgiveness Or Misunderstanding?

I'm spoiling you guys, two chapters in the same day, you do realize I haven't stood up since I sat down to write the last one?  
>Please review?, I at least deserve something for the way my backs killing me.<p>

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><p>The visit had been, to put it simply. A fiasco.<p>

Whatever border-line truce Damon and Stefan had come to was gone now, but the fact that Bonnie had stood by him in the arguments had helped his case.

Elena and Meredith had just stayed out of it,

wise of them.

He wasn't even going to think about what had started it, mostly because he didn't know.

That seemed to happen to him and Matt a lot, at each others throat like a couple of Pit Bulls and no idea what started it. Or what it was about.

But naturally, Stefan had been against him either way. Whatever it had been earlier wasn't enough to get him to see a little logic for any longer than a few minutes.

Mathyias was getting anxious again as he headed up the stairs, during the arguments he could hear him over the semi-blocked connection snarling like a wolf.

Now he was quieter, it felt like he was pacing to wear himself down, Damon had done it enough times to understand.

He closed his door behind him, flicking the lock despite it not having done a lot of good lately.

And after a moment of hesitation, sent out a call to Mathyias. The Démon âme's instant reaction reassured him, and he almost winced at the way he so obviously depended on him.

This wasn't like him, caring so much about the fact that Mathyias was sitting on his bed looking like a puppy waiting to be kicked, sometimes he almost wished he was like Stefan thought of him as.

Then maybe he'd be able to send him away.

"Do you forgive me?"

At the pathetic tone he did flinch.

"For being what you are, it isn't something you choose, let alone something you can be blamed for."

Mathyias just shrugged, as if his nature refused to allow him to face the logic that made it so clearly not his fault.

Damon sighed, sitting down next to Mathyias, feeling the tail curl around his waist against Mathyias's will. He'd put it together that he didn't have control over it.

And now it was going full out against the thinking half of Mathyias's brain and with the half that refused to let him stay away.

Damon just smiled, he wasn't sure what he thought of the affection, but he'd made a unconscious decision when arguing with Stefan downstairs.

He was going to get used to it.

Mathyias purred loudly as he got that message, greeting Damon's mind half-way as he let down the block on the connection.

It was almost as much of a shock as the first time, and that was the excuse he was using for collapsing against Mathyias.

And even that was a blow to his dignity.

Bonnie had walked in after ten minutes, in which time Mathyias had given in and wrapped his arm around Damon too. Apparently the protector side of a Démon âme was very demanding.

She'd more or less frozen in place and taken two step backwards before letting the swing of the door wrack her the rest of the way out.

After five seconds she'd opened the door again and walked inside without a word.

Five minutes ago she'd sat down in a chair by the wall, and still hadn't spoken a word.

Or looked away.

Final both Damon and Mathyias's raised eye brows got through to her and she spoke up.

"I take it you two have come to a understanding?"

Damon chuckled,

"that is what the five minute silence and letting yourself get wracked in the face by a door was about?"

She blushed, and Mathyias chuckled.

"By the way, what is a Démon âme?" She asked, resorting to changing the subject rather than facing the humiliation.

Damon sighed, looking at Mathyias to explain.

"Démon âme is French for Soul Demon, Les Liens D'âme is the name for the bond between a Démon âme and their soul mate."

Mathyias paused, ignoring Bonnie's captivated expression before he continued.

"Or, as the case is, soul. Démon âme's don't have their own soul, but when they choose someone, someone they consider special, someone that needs them. They take on half of that persons soul. A Démon âme's power is decided by their Les Liens D'âme's desire."

Bonnie glanced at Damon then, and at Mathyias's hand that had been slapped five times already for playing with Damon's hair, but was now doing so anyways.

It was pretty easy for her to put two and two together. To say she handled it calmly would be a lie.

But fortunately the sound-proofing held up to her excited shriek.

She hadn't said a word, besides that shriek, but Damon knew that the flood would come eventually.

For now she just sat back down looking embarrassed for the outburst.

Meredith slipped in without a word, slipping a bobby pin that had probably been used to pick-lock Damon's door into her pocket. Damon rolled his eyes,

"thanks for knocking," he stated sarcastically. She ignored him, nodding at Mathyias without asking about how it had been resolved.

Damon was glad, he didn't want to go through another twenty minute long session of repeatedly slapping Mathyias's hand away from his hair.

Meredith sat in the chair against the opposite wall from Bonnie and got straight to the point.

"Are you going to tell Stefan and Elena?"

Damon had hoped that he could prolong this conversation for a bit longer, having Bonnie and Meredith know was one thing, but Stefan and Elena was another.

He didn't know what Stefan would decide, but the idea of loosing Mathyias for anything haunted him.

Meredith looked at them sadly as Mathyias crooned in pain, trying to calm those thoughts. Bonnie seemed to understand as well.

"I don't know Meredith, maybe. We probably can't keep it secret forever."

She nodded, as if that was all the answer she'd expected to get. Mathyias stood abruptly as Meredith walked out of the room, gesturing for Bonnie to follow her.

Damon hesitated before following Mathyias to the window.

"Come on Damon, theres something I want to show you."

He stared in mild alarm as Mathyias leaped out the window, landing on the tree outside, before turning back to Damon.

"Where are we going?" Damon asked curiously, uncertain about taking a route through the window.

"You'll see, trust me Damon." That was all it took to get him to follow.

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><p>Okay, review or I'll sic Mathyias on you. I really need to find a new threat don't I? Its not like the pain in the neck is ever going to listen to me anyways.<p> 


	6. Life Through Another's Eyes

Please give me at least one review guys? I've given you three chapters in two days and not a single review for it.

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><p>Damon couldn't deny that he was embarrassed when Mathyias caught him as he jumped from the window.<p>

Mathyias chuckled as he let him down, shoulders shaking in laughter, his fox tail dancing on the ground.

Damon cuffed him gently, trying to ignore the way Mathyias just wrapped his tail around his ankle in response.

"Come on, its a long ways, but its not like we're Human."

With that Mathyias darted away, laughing aloud. Damon didn't know whether to laugh or growl at the antics.

But its hard to be mad while dealing with your Démon âme, something Damon was learning rather quickly.

He shook his head in bewilderment before chasing after him, knowing very well the only way he was going to catch up was Mathyias slowing down.

He glanced over his shoulder right before he disappeared into the trees, seeing both Bonnie and Meredith watching them, both with identical expressions of awe and joy.

But the way they shook with laughter didn't travel to their expressions. He just shook his head before taking off, Mathyias was ditching him.

It took him exactly twenty-four minutes to catch up with the Démon âme, he knew because the pain in the neck had left a trail, using his watch as the first item.

Mathyias was good, he had to give him that, but he wasn't sure he appreciated being toyed with.

But having Mathyias tackle him from behind just as he picked up the last trail, Mathyias's thumb ring.

He laughed as the force knocked them both down the hill. One thing he knew was that he'd never had this much fun, his entire life hadn't left time for it, but Mathyias didn't seem to care, and Damon was glad to have someone who dismissed that.

The hill had to have been about thirty feet, but when they finally rolled to a stop, the ground beneath them was stone.

Damon lifted his head to look around, finding himself facing a glittering cave roof.

Each inch was covered in tiny crystals, the walls as well, and from the floor was crystal stalagmite. In the furthest wall there was a hole, inviting sunlight to reflect off each crystal.

It was beautiful.

"Here it is," Mathyias spoke from beside him, the Démon âme standing and offering him a hand. Damon accepted, smiling as he looked around.

The place was perfect for Mathyias, it had none of the ugly magic he was used to, it looked like something Mathyias would have created, something beautiful for that purpose alone.

"How did it get here?"

Damon asked, he knew this entire area, and one thing he knew very well, was that there was nothing like this anywhere close.

Mathyias's throaty chuckle surprised him,

"do you know where we are Damon?"

He looked at the Démon âme in surprise,

"what do you mean? We haven't traveled more than twenty miles." At that Mathyias actually laughed,

"By most perspectives, no we haven't. But geographically. We're in France."

Damon stared at the Démon âme, at that moment, highly convinced that Mathyias had gone insane, but after a moment he reached out his mind, trying to find Stefan.

But nothing, like he was to far away.

Damon shook his head slowly as he sank to floor against the wall.

He'd heard the stories, that Démon âme could twist certain things to suit their Les Liens D'âme, but he'd never really realized what it meant.

Mathyias's tail wrapped around his waist as he sat down next to him.

"You needed time away from Stefan, where you could think, where you could be happy."

It was a statement rather than a question, and Damon knew that Mathyias had known everything he needed and wanted from the moment he'd laid eyes on him.

It was scary having someone know you that well, but it was reassuring as well.

Finally he nodded in response, and he asked the only thing that came to mind.

"Why France?"

It set Mathyias off laughing again, the tail tightening around his waist.

"France is my species's home-land, it is the only place I can effectively short-cut to. Last one to try another place ended up ruthlessly united with a tree. So it was forbidden to try any other place, to prevent the risk of any more deaths." Damon could hear the French accent now, and wondered how he'd missed it before.

Probably being to busy processing everything.

He closed his eyes slowly, both feeling and hearing Mathyias's deep purr.

Mathyias had been right, he did need time, away from all the chaos that was life with two vampires, a witch and three humans.

He absently swatted Mathyias's hand as it reached to play with his hair, he could never understand the constant impulses, but now he knew why Mathyias had kept his hands so busy the first time they'd met. Because he'd known that Damon wouldn't have handled him trying to play with his hair then, now he just didn't know how to handle it.

* * *

><p>He hadn't realized he'd fallen asleep until he woke up to Mathyias purring softly in his ear, a hand toying with his hair. He jolted upright, trying to find the clock that wasn't on the wall.<p>

After a moment he grabbed Mathyias's wrist, yanking it into view so he could look at the watch. 6:55, on Monday.

He'd left Sunday.

Stefan was not going to be happy.

His distress was instantly met by Mathyias's reassuring purr, a quick brush to their connection giving him the knowledge he needed to keep from having a panic-attack.

France was six hours ahead.

He nearly collapsed against Mathyias's chest, the only thing stopping him being his pride. Which seemed to be happening a lot.

Mathyias chuckled softly,

"relax, I'm not going to let anything happen to upset you, lets go home. I would have taken you earlier but... You needed rest."

Damon wasn't sure about how easily Mathyias referred to it as home, but the other half of him knew very well that wherever he was would be home for Mathyias, it was how his kind ran.


End file.
